Architecture of Urartu
The architecture of Urartu encompasses the construction methods, spatial organization, and urban planning of the Urartian culture, an Iron Age civilization located in Anatolia and the Armenian Highlands.
The earliest constructions in the Armenian highlands date back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, with remnants discovered in locations like Artvin, Arzni, Abovyan, Vagharshapat, Nurnus, and Sisian.
[1] Neolithic settlements from the 5th–4th millennia BCE were built using materials such as mud bricks, wood, reed mixed with clay, and stone.
These mounds served as burial sites for chieftains and tribal elders and could house chariots and valuable artifacts, reflecting the deceased's social status.
[2] In both the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, constructions typically utilized natural rock or were built directly on the ground without mortar.
[3] The first cities on the Armenian highlands date to the latter half of the 2nd millennium BCE, when clusters of human habitation began forming.
[5] A distinctive feature of Urartian architecture was its ability to combine the monumentalism of Mesopotamian structures with the lightness of Syro-Hittite forms.
[5] During the peak of Urartu's prominence (9th–6th centuries BCE), architecture held a dominant position in Urartian art.
[5] Numerous secular, sacred, and utilitarian structures from this period have survived, including bridges, canals, reservoirs, and roads.
[6] The central area of the city, often located on a hill, was designated for the citadel, palace, and temple, which dominated the cityscape.
[7] Parts of the urban space were allocated for workshops, storage facilities, production sites, recreational areas, and cemeteries located just outside the city walls.
[8] Archaeological excavations have revealed the ruins of a temple dedicated to Ḫaldi on the slopes and chambers and crypts carved into the rock for royal purposes.
[8] At the western base of Van Rock, the ruins of a harbor were discovered,[9] and a 70-kilometer canal supplied the city with drinking water.
Villas and elaborate houses for soldiers and officials surrounded the citadel, while poorer residents lived on the outskirts near the city walls.
[13] The city was rectangular, measuring 5 × 2 kilometers, and controlled an area of approximately 1,000 hectares, including structures on nearby hills.
[14] It was protected by two massive citadels on its western and eastern ends, with canals running along the city walls to supply water.
Common architectural features of these temples included their small size[19] and their construction based on square or rectangular plans (with entrances on the longer or shorter sides).
Three types of houses are known:[21] Due to the location of Urartu, a large portion of its architecture consists of rooms carved into rock.
[22] Several groups of artificial caves carved into the Van Rock have survived, located on the southern and southwestern sides.
